Shared Learning Opportunities are longer-term opportunities for organizations to repeatedly come together and collaboratively build their organization’s infrastructure, learn best practices from each other, and connect with subject matter experts. Three different shared learning opportunities are offered through the COMPASS Initiative: LEAD Academy, Unity Workshops, and The PoWER Institute. LEAD Academy and Unity Workshops are led by Southern AIDS Coalition and provide an opportunity for six (6) organizations annually to co-facilitate these interventions in their community. The PoWER Institute is led by Emory University Rollins School of Public Health and will consist of four to six organizations per cohort receiving intensive capacity building and organizational development assistance over a nine (9) month period from expert capacity building staff and coaches.

We know that successful systemic change begins with grassroots organizing at the local level in support of critical issues that directly impact the health and wellness of the community. Nowhere is that more evident than within our own movement, where those of us living with HIV forever changed the course of the epidemic. We stood up and demanded services that were responsive to our needs and to the realities of our lived experiences. From the earliest days of the epidemic, our leadership has profoundly influenced the planning of HIV prevention and care services on the national, state, and local levels. Our leadership is now more important than ever, especially in the South, where widening HIV-related health disparities and inequities threaten the lives of our people and impede real progress toward ending the epidemic.

We are committed to building that next generation of leaders. That’s why Southern AIDS Coalition developed the LEAD (Leadership, Education, and Advocacy Development) Academy, an intensive training program created by and for people living with HIV. The LEAD Academy includes more than 20 hours of intensive training, all delivered in-person and on-site by Southern AIDS Coalition staff, in conjunction with leading experts and local partners (that’s you!). Upon completion of all three courses, participants graduate as “Southern LEADers” with advanced knowledge of HIV, real-world experience with advocacy, and the skills to serve as leaders and trusted sources of information within their community. For more information about LEAD Academy, please click here.

As part of the COMPASS Initiative, six (6) organizations annually will be selected to co-facilitate this intervention in their local community in collaboration with Southern AIDS Coalition.

Eligibility

Criteria

Description

HIV Focused

Applicants must have a primary organizational purpose of reducing new HIV infections and/or improving the health of people living with HIV.

Geographic Location

Applicants must be located in and doing work in one of nine (9) Deep South states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, or Texas.

Non-Profit Status

Applications must be non-profit, tax-exempt organizations as set forth in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Applicants that do not hold 501(c)(3) status must have a fiscal sponsor to apply.

Facilitation Requirement

Co-facilitate Unity Workshop, an internalized stigma reduction intervention in their local community.

Evaluation

Applicants must agree to work with our evaluation partners, if funded, to help measure the impact of the training.

HOW TO APPLY

LEAD Academy is now full for the 2018 cohort. Applications will open for the next cohort in Fall 2019. Please subscribe for updates on future opportunities to apply.

The PoWER (Partners Working for Enhanced Results) Institute is the the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health Coordinating Center’s most intensive strategy for assisting organizations with transforming organizational practice, improving systems and operations, and ensuring data driven service outcomes. The primary goal of The PoWER Institute is to move organizations to the next level of organizational expansion and sustainability through an examination of workflow, internal operations, organizational structure, governance and leadership and program management. A second important goal is to strengthen community networks through enhanced collaboration between participating organizations as they seek improvements in shared topic areas. Participating organizations must demonstrate a commitment to improve the functioning of their organizations and possess the foundational leadership and infrastructure to lead and support associated organizational changes. Four to six organizations will be selected for each PoWER Institute cohort.

The PoWER Institute consists of six (6) monthly sessions with all participating organizations followed by three (3) months of individualized coaching for each organization with an assigned capacity building coach who is experienced in organizational development practice. Group learning sessions will include face-to-face workshops, conference calls and web-based discussions. Individualized coaching will include site visits and one-on-one or small group coaching sessions.

ELIGIBILITY

Organizations interested in participating in The PoWER Institutes (PI) must demonstrate a commitment to improving the functioning of their organizations, have an interest in expanding services in areas that have minimal resources available to people living with or impacted by HIV, and possess the foundational leadership and infrastructure to lead and support associated organizational changes. Institutes will be offered two-three times each year in a different region within the Deep South states (AL, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN or TX). Regions for PI cohorts will be selected based on HIV incidence and prevalence rates and the availability of HIV care and prevention resources in the region. At least five (5) organizations will be selected to participate in each cohort, and a stipend will be available to organizations that remain in good standing (i.e., attend all scheduled and follow-up sessions and reporting requirements) in the institute. All travel expenses will be paid by the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health Coordinating Center.

Organizations eligible to participate in the PoWER Institutes must:

Eligibility

Criteria

Description

HIV Focused

Applicants must have a primary organizational purpose of reducing new HIV infections and/or improving the health of people living with HIV.

Geographic Location

Applicants must be located in and doing work in one of nine (9) Deep South states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, or Texas.

Non-Profit Status

Applications must be non-profit, tax-exempt organizations as set forth in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Applicants that do not hold 501(c)(3) status must have a fiscal sponsor to apply.

Capacity Building Need

Have at least one infrastructure or organizational capacity need that they would like to address in a collaborative, shared learning environment.

Participation

Identify and commit three (3) people within the organization that agree to participate fully in each scheduled learning and follow-up coaching session.

Good Standing Requirements

Must be in good standing with other funding providers, including the local health department (as appropriate).

Evaluation

Applicants must agree to work with our evaluation partners, if funded, to help measure the impact of the training.

HOW TO APPLY

An application packet will be available at least forty-five (45) days prior to each scheduled PoWER Institute cohort. Interested organizations should submit a completed application packet by the forthcoming submission deadline dates to be eligible for participation.

Unity Workshop is an internalized stigma reduction intervention, developed by researchers at the University of Washington utilizing the HIV Stigma Toolkit created by the International Center for Research on Women. Southern AIDS Coalition has adapted this workshop for delivery among women and men of color in the Southern United States. The Unity Workshop intervention covers stigma narratives and experiences, with discussion, as well as exercises, to develop and strengthen coping skills. In addition, videos of potentially stigmatizing situations are shown and then workshop attendees role play ways to navigate these situations. The Unity Workshop intervention takes one day, approximately eight (8) hours, to implement. As part of the COMPASS Initiative, Southern AIDS Coalition is looking to partner with six (6) community organizations annually in the South to co-facilitate this intervention in their local community.

Eligibility

Criteria

Description

HIV Focused

Applicants must have a primary organizational purpose of reducing new HIV infections and/or improving the health of people living with HIV.

Geographic Location

Applicants must be located in and doing work in one of nine (9) Deep South states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, or Texas.

Non-Profit Status

Applications must be non-profit, tax-exempt organizations as set forth in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Applicants that do not hold 501(c)(3) status must have a fiscal sponsor to apply.

Facilitation Requirement

Co-facilitate LEAD Academy in your local community, an intensive training program created by and for people living with HIV.

Evaluation

Applicants must agree to work with our evaluation partners, if funded, to help measure the impact of the training.

HOW TO APPLY

Unity Workshop is now full for the 2018 cohort. Applications will open for the next cohort in Fall 2019. Please subscribe for updates on future opportunities to apply.